A Creative Kid Min Journey with Scott Humston
Hello, magnificent leader of small humans! Thanks for following me on this journey of sharing deeper ideas of creativity for kids! During the last two summers of ministry here, I’ve created a game-themed program—which was fun—, but I’ve been praying that God would give me a “fresh” start. So, just a couple of weeks ago, during lunch with a young man, new believer, and artist, I believe God showed me this idea, Creativity & The Creator, a weekly program to plant seeds into young hearts. So, while there is MUCH more than can be said…thanks for following along on this journey!
(I’ll be posting weekly—or as I can. As the family & connections pastor, in addition to being a professional comedian & illusionist (I know, I know…), my schedule can be really hectic, especially during the summer. A lot of my writing here is not edited, so please forgive spelling or grammar, I am trying to get the information for you quickly. 😁)
Week One
Creation & God’s Handiwork
The Set Up
We prepared for 50 kids at long tables facing the large-screen TV. For the most part, everyone was FACING the TV so that kids weren’t across from one another. I liked that. I will keep doing that each week. We covered the tables with white plastic tablecloths, and in the middle, we had a small container with colored markers.
Creative Lesson
Drawing God’s Creation
The goal of this week’s lesson:
Kids will learn to appreciate the beauty and diversity of God’s creation and understand the role of creativity in reflecting God’s handiwork.
Creation and God’s Handiwork
The focus this week was Genesis 1:1. We created a simple presentation in Keynote and we started with that. You can see that below. I took my time with the Keynote, using examples and reading scripture from the Bible. You’ll notice the words on the presentation share the story—but I think reading the scripture is vital.
After we went through the teaching from the Keynote, we jumped into the activity. Our craft this week was very simple; This was the setup: We provided drawing paper, colored pencils, and markers. And then “Encouraged kids to draw their favorite aspects of God’s creation.” We spent about fifteen minutes doing this. Some children got very creative—without any adult prompting, such as one boy drawing seven boxes and a drawing the days of creation. Because it was completely open—they could draw ANY aspect of God’s creation—many drew family members, pets, and rainbows.
When this piece ended, I had them turn over the creative drawing and trace their hand. Adult helpers were needed for some. Once their hand was drawn, I asked them to write five things they liked about themselves—one for each finger. This was eye-opening—as some of the children had no problem, several did—this was a chance for the helpers and me to say something positive about them—which brought smiles & giggles.
After that piece, we took a break for restroom & snacks. (I kept these simple, too. Water, goldfish, cookies, etc.). After we wrapped up snack time, I showed a video from The Gospel Project, The Creation Story. It recapped our earlier teaching. You can view that here. — and then the classic song, All Things Bright & Beautiful. I LOVE the version from Rain For Roots. You can view that here. We watched it together, and I am sure that none of the kids had seen or even heard that song before.
It was a good moment.
We moved into the final segment, a coloring sheet. As they prepared to color in the image, I asked, “think of a way you can color this in that would be different from what you might always do.” Then, I played the video of All Things Bright and Beautiful while they colored. You can download the coloring sheet we created here. (BTW, while I was leading, two of my helpers were putting each child’s name on the take-home piece—a bookmark. Here’s what that looks like:
We closed in prayer and then went into the gym and played games during dismissal time. Overall it was a great night. Simple. But effective. Next week, we’ll look at Michaeango and the Sistine Chapel, “Masterpiece In The Sky.”
Thank you for going with me on this journey! I’ll post more here after Lesson 2.
Sharing his Wonder,
P.S. Thank you for going with me on this journey! Unless otherwise stated, all the art creations and pieces are created by New Dimensions Evangelism and our FaithKidz project. We are a small ministry doing BIG things. (Did you know we produced the world’s first and largest VBS? WOW! VBS, during 2020 & 21? It was all FREE and FANTASTIC!) If you feel led to support our mission, you can learn more here.
If you are looking for a live outreach event for your community, send me a note, and let’s talk.